Worldwide, increasing pressure on emergency departments from rising demand,has led to much interest in different models of service delivery, including the use of primary care services in or alongside emergency departments. However, the way these primary care services look and operate varies depending on local context and whether they are required to operate closer to an emergency medicine service or to usual primary care. Research to evaluate the effectiveness of different service models (including patient experience, service and cost-effectiveness outcomes) is hampered by inconsistent terminology, outdated taxonomies and heterogeneous, single-site study designs. This limits the opportunity for data synthesis to draw conclusions that will inform decision-making and policy.Research is urgently needed to understand if the form these services take supports the intended function, and requires an updated taxonomy to enable comparison of models and outcomes.
University of Lincoln, College of Social Science Research
Alison Cooper, Cardiff University, School of Medicine
Michelle Edwards, Cardiff University, School of Medicine
Janet Brandling, University of the West of England, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences,
Andrew Carson-Stevens, Cardiff University, School of Medicine
Matthew Cooke, University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School
Freya Davies, Cardiff University, School of Medicine
Thomas Hughes, John Radcliffe Hospital, Emergency Department
Katherin Morton, University of the West of England, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences,
Niro Siriwardena, University of Lincoln, School of Health and Social Care
Sarah Voss, University of the West of England, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences,
Jonathon Benger, University of the West of England, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences,
Adrian Edwards, Cardiff University, School of Medicine